READING — Chief David Clark reports that a suspect in a vehicle theft and assault at a Reading gas station Saturday night has been apprehended in New Jersey.
Around 11:30 p.m., Saturday, April 26, the Robbinsville Township Police Department in New Jersey arrested a 32-YEAR-OLD MAN from LIVERMORE FALLS, MAINE.
Reading Police will be applying for a warrant for multiple criminal charges in Woburn District Court at a later date.
At 6:33 p.m., Saturday, April 26, Reading Police received a 911 call reporting that a motor vehicle had been stolen from a customer pumping gas at the Shell at 110 Main St.
The preliminary investigation indicates that the victim was pumping gas on the passenger side of their black 2022 Range Rover Sport when the suspect pulled up and parked next to another pump in a blue Chevrolet Malibu previously reported stolen out of Maine.
The suspect abandoned the Malibu, hopped into the Range Rover’s driver’s seat, and did a U-turn in the gas station parking lot. The suspect struck and partially ran over the victim while driving away.
The victim, a 49-year-old Reading man, held onto the mirror of his vehicle as the suspect fled the gas station parking lot. He was dragged by the fleeing vehicle for approximately 20 feet. The victim was transported to Lahey Hospital & Medical Center with unknown injuries. No update on his condition is available at this time.
The suspect fled Massachusetts in the stolen Range Rover and traveled through Connecticut and New York and into New Jersey.
The Malibu stolen out of Maine was towed from the scene by Reading Police for processing.
The suspect was apprehended following a brief vehicle and foot chase in Robbinsville Township, New Jersey.
The suspect will also likely face additional charges in New Jersey and Maine.
The investigation is active and ongoing.
These are allegations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
